C.F.R. » Title 10 » CHAPTER I—NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION › PART 50—DOMESTIC LICENSING OF PRODUCTION AND UTILIZATION FACILITIES

10 C.F.R. § 50.10

License required; limited work authorization

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(a) Definitions. As used in this section, construction means the activities in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, and does not mean the activities in paragraph (a)(2) of this section.

(1) Activities constituting construction are the driving of piles, subsurface preparation, placement of backfill, concrete, or permanent retaining walls within an excavation, installation of foundations, or in-place assembly, erection, fabrication, or testing, which are for:

(i) Safety-related structures, systems, or components (SSCs) of a facility, as defined in 10 CFR 50.2;

(ii) SSCs relied upon to mitigate accidents or transients or used in plant emergency operating procedures;

(iii) SSCs whose failure could prevent safety-related SSCs from fulfilling their safety-related function;

(iv) SSCs whose failure could cause a reactor scram or actuation of a safety-related system;

(v) SSCs necessary to comply with 10 CFR part 73;

(vi) SSCs necessary to comply with 10 CFR 50.48 and criterion 3 of 10 CFR part 50, appendix A; and

(vii) Onsite emergency facilities necessary to comply with either § 50.160 or § 50.47 and appendix E to this part, as applicable.

(2) Construction does not include:

(i) Changes for temporary use of the land for public recreational purposes;

(ii) Site exploration, including necessary borings to determine foundation conditions or other preconstruction monitoring to establish background information related to the suitability of the site, the environmental impacts of construction or operation, or the protection of environmental values;

(iii) Preparation of a site for construction of a facility, including clearing of the site, grading, installation of drainage, erosion and other environmental mitigation measures, and construction of temporary roads and borrow areas;

(iv) Erection of fences and other access control measures;

(v) Excavation;

(vi) Erection of support buildings (such as, construction equipment storage sheds, warehouse and shop facilities, utilities, concrete mixing plants, docking and unloading facilities, and office buildings) for use in connection with the construction of the facility;

(vii) Building of service facilities, such as paved roads, parking lots, railroad spurs, exterior utility and lighting systems, potable water systems, sanitary sewerage treatment facilities, and transmission lines;

(viii) Procurement or fabrication of components or portions of the proposed facility occurring at other than the final, in-place location at the facility;

(ix) Manufacture of a nuclear power reactor under a manufacturing license under subpart F of part 52 of this chapter to be installed at the proposed site and to be part of the proposed facility; or

(x) With respect to production or utilization facilities, other than testing facilities and nuclear power plants, required to be licensed under Section 104.a or Section 104.c of the Act, the erection of buildings which will be used for activities other than operation of a facility and which may also be used to house a facility (e.g., the construction of a college laboratory building with space for installation of a training reactor).

(b) Requirement for license. Except as provided in § 50.11 of this chapter, no person within the United States shall transfer or receive in interstate commerce, manufacture, produce, transfer, acquire, possess, or use any production or utilization facility except as authorized by a license issued by the Commission.

(c) Requirement for construction permit, early site permit authorizing limited work authorization activities, combined license, or limited work authorization. No person may begin the construction of a production or utilization facility on a site on which the facility is to be operated until that person has been issued either a construction permit under this part, a combined license under part 52 of this chapter, an early site permit authorizing the activities under paragraph (d) of this section, or a limited work authorization under paragraph (d) of this section.

(d) Request for limited work authorization. (1) Any person to whom the Commission may otherwise issue either a license or permit under Sections 103, 104.b, or 185 of the Act for a facility of the type specified in §§ 50.21(b)(2), (b)(3), or 50.22 of this chapter, or a testing facility, may request a limited work authorization allowing that person to perform the driving of piles, subsurface preparation, placement of backfill, concrete, or permanent retaining walls within an excavation, installation of the foundation, including placement of concrete, any of which are for an SSC of the facility for which either a construction permit or combined license is otherwise required under paragraph (c) of this section.

(2) An application for a limited work authorization may be submitted as part of a complete application for a construction permit or combined license in accordance with 10 CFR 2.101(a)(1) through (a)(5), or as a partial application in accordance with 10 CFR 2.101(a)(9). An application for a limited work authorization must be submitted by an applicant for or holder of an early site permit as a complete application in accordance with 10 CFR 2.101(a)(1) through (a)(4).

(3) The application must include:

(i) A safety analysis report required by 10 CFR 50.34, 10 CFR 52.17 or 10 CFR 52.79 of this chapter, as applicable, a description of the activities requested to be performed, and the design and construction information otherwise required by the Commission's rules and regulations to be submitted for a construction permit or combined license, but limited to those portions of the facility that are within the scope of the limited work authorization. The safety analysis report must demonstrate that activities conducted under the limited work authorization will be conducted in compliance with the technically-relevant Commission requirements in 10 CFR Chapter I applicable to the design of those portions of the facility within the scope of the limited work authorization;

(ii) An environmental report in accordance with § 51.49 of this chapter; and

(iii) A plan for redress of activities performed under the limited work authorization, should limited work activities be terminated by the holder or the limited work authorization be revoked by the NRC, or upon effectiveness of the Commission's final decision denying the associated construction permit or combined license application, as applicable.

(e) Issuance of limited work authorization. (1) The Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation may issue a limited work authorization only after:

(i) The NRC staff issues the final environmental impact statement for the limited work authorization in accordance with subpart A of part 51 of this chapter;

(ii) The Director determines that the applicable standards and requirements of the Act, and the Commission's regulations applicable to the activities to be conducted under the limited work authorization, have been met; the applicant is technically qualified to engage in the activities authorized; and issuance of the limited work authorization will provide reasonable assurance of adequate protection to public health and safety and will not be inimical to the common defense and security; and

(iii) If a contested hearing is held, the presiding officer finds that there are no unresolved safety issues relating to the activities to be conducted under the limited work authorization that would constitute good cause for withholding the authorization.

(2) Each limited work authorization will specify the activities that the holder is authorized to perform.

(f) Effect of limited work authorization. Any activities undertaken under a limited work authorization are entirely at the risk of the applicant and, except as to the matters determined under paragraph (e)(1) of this section, the issuance of the limited work authorization has no bearing on the issuance of a construction permit or combined license with respect to the requirements of the Act, and rules, regulations, or orders issued under the Act. The environmental impact statement for a construction permit or combined license application for which a limited work authorization was previously issued will not address, and the presiding officer in a contested hearing will not consider, the sunk costs of the holder of limited work authorization in determining the proposed action (i.e., issuance of the construction permit or combined license).

(g) Implementation of redress plan. If construction is terminated by the holder, the underlying application is withdrawn by the applicant or denied by the NRC, or the limited work authorization is revoked by the NRC, then the holder must begin implementation of the redress plan in a reasonable time. The holder must also complete the redress of the site no later than 18 months after termination of construction, revocation of the limited work authorization, or upon effectiveness of the Commission's final decision denying the associated construction permit application or the underlying combined license application, as applicable.

[72 FR 57441, Oct. 9, 2007; 84 FR 65644, Nov. 29, 2019; 88 FR 80074, Nov. 16, 2023; 89 FR 57719, July 16, 2024; 91 FR 20066, Apr. 15, 2026]
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 9 cases, 1970–2008 · leading case: Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone v. Connecticut Siting Council, 942 A.2d 345 (Conn. 2008).
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Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone v. Connecticut Siting Council, 942 A.2d 345 (Conn. 2008). “Millstone, which is licensed to operate under the regulations of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC); see 10 C.F.R. § 50.10 (2007); contains three nuclear fueled electricity generating units, two of which, unit 2 and unit 3, currently are operating.”
Laurence Gage v. United States Atomic Energy Comm'n & United States of Am. Commonwealth Edison Co., Intervenor, 479 F.2d 1214 (D.C. Cir. 1973). · cites it 2× “Together, they assure not only adequate but more meaningful review of every one of the various claims on which petitioners could conceivably deserve to gain relief.”
Long Island Lighting Co. v. Cuomo, 666 F. Supp. 370 (N.D.N.Y. 1987). “§§ 2035 , 2131; 10 C.F.R. §§ 50.10 , 50.33, 50.47. The standards for obtaining these permits have become increasingly stringent over the years since the Shoreham project began.”
People's Couns. v. Pub. Serv. Comm'n, 270 A.2d 105 (Md. 1970). · cites it 4× “Regulations here pertinent, offered in evidence below, are found in 10 C.F.R. § 50.10 (b) and provide: "No person shall begin the construction of a production or utilization facility on a site on which the facility is to be operated until a construction permit has been issued.”
Gage v. Commonwealth Edison Co., 356 F. Supp. 80 (N.D. Ill. 1972). · cites it 2× “The first of these steps alleged by plaintiffs to constitute AEC “duties” has been recognized by the AEC in the promulgation of an amendment to its regulations, 10 C.F.R. § 50.10 (March, 1972). Thus, since the AEC will consider environmental factors prior to granting Edison a…”
The Detroit Edison Co. v. United States Nuclear Regulatory Comm'n, 630 F.2d 450 (6th Cir. 1980). “References in this opinion to "the Commission" may therefore indicate either agency 2 We are concerned throughout this opinion with "off-site" transmission lines, defined as that section of line between the plant site boundary and the first point of connection with an existing…”
Nat. Resources Def. Council, Inc. v. United States Nuclear Regulatory Comm'n, 695 F.2d 623 (D.C. Cir. 1982). “10 C.F.R. §§ 50.10 (c), 3 50.10(e) (1982).”
Pub. Serv. Co. v. United States Nuclear Regulatory Comm'n, 582 F.2d 77 (1st Cir. 1978). “The regulations appear in 10 C.F.R. § 50.10 (e)(l)(iv). The regulations were promulgated to implement NEPA, see Gage v.”
Detroit Edison Co. v. United States Nuclear Regulatory Comm'n, 630 F.2d 450 (6th Cir. 1980). “See 10 C.F.R. 50.10(e)(1)(iv), 37 Fed.Reg. 5745 (March 21, 1972); Tennessee Valley Authority (Brown’s Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, 3) 6 A.”
— 10 C.F.R. § 50.10(e)(1)(iv) — 2 cases
The Detroit Edison Co. v. United States Nuclear Regulatory Comm'n, 630 F.2d 450 (6th Cir. 1980). “References in this opinion to "the Commission" may therefore indicate either agency 2 We are concerned throughout this opinion with "off-site" transmission lines, defined as that section of line between the plant site boundary and the first point of connection with an existing…”
Detroit Edison Co. v. United States Nuclear Regulatory Comm'n, 630 F.2d 450 (6th Cir. 1980). “See 10 C.F.R. 50.10(e)(1)(iv), 37 Fed.Reg. 5745 (March 21, 1972); Tennessee Valley Authority (Brown’s Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, 3) 6 A.”
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